{"product_id":"the-choral-by-alan-bennett-9780571396283","title":"The Choral","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eYou don't have to believe it. I always took\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003ethe\u003c\/em\u003e Matthew Passion \u003cem\u003ewith a pinch of salt.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRamsden, Yorkshire, 1916. The ambitious local Choral Society is depleted as men volunteer for the front, and plans for their St Matthew Passion by German composer J. S. Bach are scuppered by patriotic fervour. Dr Guthrie, the mysterious, exacting new Chorus Master, finds a replacement in Elgar's \u003cem\u003eDream of Gerontius\u003c\/em\u003e and swells the choir's numbers with teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the urgency of desire and the joy of singing as the new boys come to terms with their imminent conscription, and friendships and summer trysts are suffused with a melancholy sense of all that might soon be lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe screenplay will be published alongside the film's Australian release (on 1st January 2026) and includes a preface by the author and an introduction from Nicholas Hytner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47773154279660,"sku":"9780571396283","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780571396283-the-choral.jpg?v=1782183479","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-choral-by-alan-bennett-9780571396283","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}